The Yule Ball - Hermione's Story
by poppydelacour
Summary: Hermione's version of the events at the Yule Ball, plus her version of events before and after (stuff that was hinted at in the book, but never explained) How did Krum ask her? Where did she get that beautiful dress? What does she think of Ron? What do she and Krum do when they're together? What really happened at the Yule Ball? UPDATED OFTEN. Rated T for some romance to come.
1. Chapter 1: Will you?

Hermione was taking a break from the loud chaos of the common room in the library, her wavy hair pulled back in a French braid and tied with a red ribbon. She was wearing a tight green knit sweater and dark wash skinny jeans, since it was break and students were allowed to wear Muggle clothing. The girl was happy about this as she found that these clothes were much more practical.

Curled up in a cozy armchair in the back corner of the library with a heavy book in her lap, Hermione seemed, to anyone watching, totally engrossed in her research.

In reality, she was daydreaming about the Yule Ball. In her mind's eye she could see herself in a beautiful lavender blue dress, her hair smooth and in an elaborate updo, a sparkling necklace around her neck, swirling gracefully across the shining dance floor with her tall, handsome partner.

"Stop imagining things that will never come true" Hermione told herself sternly. The idea of her being the most beautiful girl at the ball was almost laughable. She had heard Pansy Parkinson, a Slytherin girl bragging about how she got her dress custom made by a very famous and expensive wizarding designer, and her jewellery sent from a wizarding shop in Paris. Hermione assumed that many other girls were doing the same.

Though Hermione did have a pretty dress and a silver chain necklace, they were very simple, especially compared to the daydreams of gorgeous dresses she had been having all afternoon.

"Besides" Hermione reminded herself bitterly "that's the least of your worries"

The Yule Ball was only three days away, and no one had asked her yet. Hermione told herself it didn't matter what her dress looked like, she would go to the Ball in a potato sack paired with Luna's radish earrings, if it meant having a partner.

Lost in thought, Hermione didn't notice the soft footsteps coming up behind her until someone's shadow obscured the page of the text she had been pretending to read.

She turned, and to her surprise, saw Viktor Krum standing next to her, with what seemed to be a nervous expression on his usually impassive face.

"Erm, hello" he said, not meeting her eyes, his cheeks slightly pink "How are you Hermi-own?"

Hermione stared at him. She knew that Krum spent a lot of time in the library; he was there almost as much as she was; yet she had never seen him try talk to anyone.

Hermione ran her fingers nervously through the tail of her braid. "Oh I'm fine," she said, trying to keep her voice light, as if she talked to internationally famous Quidditch players every day "Your fan club isn't here I see? And how did you know my name?" She asked softly her cheeks reddening slightly.

Krum didn't answer. He was practically sitting the arm of her chair now, staring at her; his strong frame only inches from her own. Hermione looked around the library and realized with a jolt of nerves that even Madame Pince was gone. Hermione and Krum were the only ones there.

Krum seemed to be building up the nerve to say something. He took a deep breath:

"Vell I know your name because, because, I've been coming to the library every day trying to get up the nerve to ask you this" he said, looking down at her from where he was sitting on the arm of her chair, his dark eyes locked on her own. "Hermi-own, I was vondering, if you… Vere vanting to go to the ball vith me?"

Hermione barely stopped herself from letting out a gasp and felt her face go even more red. She could hardly believe that Krum wanted to go to the ball with her. Just two minutes ago she would have been happy if a troll had asked her, and here was Viktor Krum, Durmstang champion. She opened her mouth to reply but no sound came out. She was usually so quick with her wits, yet in front of him she struggled to form a coherent thought.

Krum's cheeks reddened and he sighed, "I should have guessed you must be going vith someone already. Sorry to bother you." He turned to walk away and his shoulders slumped. He had interpreted her silence as a rejection, and assumed she already had a partner.

"Wait!" Hermione called after him, and Krum turned back around. Hermione twisted her fingers through her hair nervously again, "I'd love to go with you, its just…" she looked for a non-lame excuse of why she hadn't answered him earlier "it's just, I'm not a very good dancer" she finished, embarrassed. This of course wasn't strictly true, Hermione was actually quite a good dancer.

"Vell," Viktor Krum said, with a smile that made Hermione's heart flutter "they do say that practice makes perfect" and he held out a hand. Hermione took it, and allowed herself to be swept up into his arms. They weren't dancing though, in fact they weren't moving at all, but Hermione found that she didn't really mind somehow. They stood close together in the empty library, her hands on his strong shoulders and his hands grazing her hips.

His deep brown eyes met her hazel ones and Hermione felt as if a million butterflies were flying around in her stomach. She could stay this way forever. His hands were holding her tighter now, clamped around her waist, pulling her towards him.

Hermione could feel her heart thudding in her chest, and for a split second she thought he might lean in and kiss her, when at that moment, Madam Pince strutted into the library. The two students leapt apart hurriedly, and Hermione started to gather her things, flustered.

"Meet me by the stairs to the entrance hall before the ball" Hermione stammered quietly, as Madam Pince was very strict about not talking in the library. "I have to get going, I've got to be meeting someone. Goobye Krum!"

Hermione turned to walk away, her denim messenger bag slung over one shoulder, and this time it was he who called after her:

"Vait!" he said loudly, catching her small hand with both his own "Call me Viktor"

**So that's the end of the first chapter, another one is coming in less than an hour, only a few more paragraphs to write. Hope you liked it! Please, please review comments; suggestions and criticism are all really appreciated, as this is my first fanfiction! Favorite and follow if you really like it! **


	2. Chapter 2: Date Drama

On the way back to the common room Hermione couldn't stop smiling. She also couldn't wait to tell Ginny all about what had happened in the library. Just then, she turned a corner to the stairway and saw Neville and his legs trapped in a trick stair.

"Hey Hermione!" he called, his face flushed. "A little help please?"

Hermione smiled, a little distractedly, and pointed her wand at him.

"_Ascendio_" she intoned clearly. Neville shot out of the trick step like a cork out of a bottle and much to Hermione's surprise landed shakily on his feet.

"Thanks" he said, and Hermione noticed that his voice seemed a bit higher than usual. There was a rather awkward pause, where none of them said anything.

"So Hermione" Neville asked "I was wondering if you would like to go to the ball with me?" Neville said this all rather fast, so it took Hermione a second before she understood what he was asking. She stopped smiling rather abruptly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Neville, I really am." she stammered, running her fingers through her already messy braid "But someone's already asked me, and I said yes." With a sad smile, Hermione walked past him up the stairs.

* * *

"Oh my gosh I cant believe it!" Ginny squealed. The two girls were sitting in an empty corner of the common room on a comfy red couch. The fire was crackling merrily nearby, and Hermione was nibbling on a star shaped sugar cookie. Fred and George had snuck into the kitchens again and the tables of the common room were laden with delicious Christmas treats.

Hermione had just finished telling Ginny all about her encounter with Viktor that morning in the library. "Honestly Ginny," Hermione said, fighting to keep the tremor out of her voice. "I'm a little nervous. I'm bound to get heaps of dirty looks, therefore my plan is not to tell anyone who I'm going with until they see me at the ball!" she murmured, her eyes widening.

"You're the only one who knows we're partners, besides Krum, of course." Hermione let out a high-pitched giggle, which she rarely did, as she generally associated giggling with people like Lavender Brown.

"I'm not used to being the center of attention," Hermione said nervously "what if people laugh at me or think its all a big joke, that Krum and I going together."

"Hermione!" Ginny half-yelled in mock anger "I promise you, no one will laugh, if anything they'll cry with jealousy. That's what I almost did" Ginny joked, tossing her red hair over her shoulder.

"But honestly Hermione," she said, her voice suddenly serious "you deserve this, and Krum could have practically any girl in the school and he asked you. He sees something special in you, I know it, and everyone else does too."

Hermione smiled, and hoped with all her heart that Ginny would find a partner for the dance now that Harry seemed to be set on asking Cho.

"Now" Ginny said with a mischievous smile "What about Ron? Are you going to tell him? I mean I know you had a thing for him"

Hermione waved her hand airily. "Actually, no offense Ginny, but Ron's been acting really superficial lately. You know, he told me that he would go to the ball with the prettiest girl who would go with him, no matter what their personality was. I bet he's going to ask that bossy Fleur girl, not that I think she'll say yes. "

Ginny shrugged "Oh well you know Ron, he can be a prat, so insensitive sometimes. Viktor Krum is a much better option."

* * *

The next day was also the day before the Yule Ball, which started at eight the following night. Hermione was sitting alone at a round table in the common room finishing her Potions essay that was due at the end of break. She was facing the window and could see the golden sun, lowering in the horizon over the frozen lake, and the dark shadow of the Durmstang ship, wedged in the ice. A solitary black smudge on a snowy white canvas.

Hermione had been at the sitting in the common room for almost three hours now, Crookshanks curled up on her lap. The essay Snape was making them write on Girding Potions was supposed to be a foot long, and would normally have taken Hermione much less time to complete. Except for the fact that her mind seemed to only be thinking about one thing: Viktor Krum.

They had met again in the library this morning. To Hermione's dismay or relief, she wasn't sure which, there were other people in the library, and so the "dance practice" episode of yesterday had not been repeated.

Instead they had sat at a dark mahogany table at the back of the library and buried their faces in large books. They were only pretending to read, and used the books to hide their faces from Viktor's fan club as they stalked into the library.

Viktor it seemed, was just as keen as Hermione to keep their relationship a secret until the ball. He knew that Karkaroff would not approve of him taking a Muggle-born to the dance, and he told Hermione so. Krum also told her, in a soft whisper from behind his book, that he didn't care what Karkaroff thought, but if his headmaster found out about them before the ball, he might conspire to break them apart.

The pair chatted for hours and skipped lunch, preferring each other's company too much to depart. They talked about their schools mostly, and about their home countries. Krum seemed fascinated by her, as she told him about her time at school and her life before Hogwarts.

Viktor was much more down-to-earth than what she had expected from such a famous professional Quidditch player. He told her all about his home in Bulgaria, and he spoke about it with such a longing in his voice, Hermione could tell he really missed it. He also spoke about how much he liked Hogwarts, how everyone here was so much friendlier than at Durmstang, the castle much nicer as well. Viktor also mentioned, with a sly grin, how much prettier the girls here were, though he only had eyes for one.

The sound of the portrait hole opening startled Hermione out of her reverie. Ron, accompanied by Ginny and a group of chattering girls clambered into the common room. Ron's looked paler than usual, the freckles dotting his nose much more pronounced. Harry who had just arrived in the common room as well, jumped up to join Ron.

The two boys and Ginny talked in whispers as Hermione stood up (with a yowl of protest from Crookshanks) and packed her things. She walked towards couch by the fire, where the three of them were sitting.

"What happened?" she asked as soon as she got there, seeing the look of despair on Ron's and Harry's faces.

Ginny looked like she was trying very hard not to laugh. "They both got turned down by girls they asked to the ball." The red-haired girl then launched into the story of how Ron had asked out Fleur Delacour, the Beauxbatons Champion. He had, of course, been rejected.

Ron looked extremely dejected. "I'll never be able to find a date" he moaned, his eyes wide and panicked. "Neville told me he asked you, by the way." he said, glancing at Hermione. There was a pause. Then Ron seemed to realize something. He was staring at Hermione like he had never seen a girl before.

"Hey Hermione," he said slowly, a crafty look on his face "Neville's right – you are a girl"

"Oh, well spotted" Hermione sniffed. She knew what was coming next. She decided she would let him down easy, as long as he asked politely.

"Since you're not going with anyone," Ron continued "you can come with one of us!" He said, in a tone that implied he was doing Hermione a great favour by asking her.

Hermione could hardly believe her ears. Ron was still smiling complacently, like he was some sort of merciful god doing Hermione a great favour and waiting to be thanked.

"No, I can't go with you." she snapped.

"Oh come on" he said impatiently "we need partners, we're going to look really pathetic if we haven't got any and everybody else has …"

"I can't come with you." Hermione responded, and she could feel her cheeks reddening. She definitely was not going to tell Ron about Krum if she could help it. "I'm already going with someone."

"No, you're not!" said Ron. "You just said that to get rid of Neville!"

"Oh did I?" said Hermione, and each word was as razor sharp as the fangs of a Horntail. "Just because it's taken _you _three years to notice, Ronald, doesn't mean no one else has spotted I'm a girl!"

Ron stared at her for a moment. Then he grinned.

"Okay, Okay, I know you're a girl" he said. "Will you come _now_?"

It took all of Hermione's willpower not to scream at him. The prat didn't even seem to realize how insulting his words were.

"Since you didn't get the memo Ronald," she hissed, her tone venomous. "I'm going with someone else!"

With that Hermione turned on her heel and stormed off in the direction of the girls dormitories.

As she walked away she heard Ron's disbelieving voice, followed by Ginny's quiet response:

"She's lying."

"She's not."

**Note: Parts of the last section of dialogue between Ron and Hermione were in the goblet of fire, but since this is hermione's version I had to include it to get her side of the story in.**

**I hope you liked it! Please please please please review and tell me what you think, criticisms and suggestions really are appreciated as this is my first fanfiction. Favorite and follow if you really like it! (This sounds like an advert aha sorry, might as well keep it this way since I'm almost done.) There will be much more drama in the next chapter… Guaranteed or your money back! :) – Poppy**


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